Lac John Fishing Guide, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  You will find Lac John in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. Height above sea level is 656 metres. Small at around 3 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean. Nearest place of any size is Saint-Honoré, 50 km away. Saint-Fulgence lies 56 km off, Saint-Ambroise another 56 km. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac John

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Fish documented in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Lac John the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 15°C at the top of summer and -19°C at the bottom of winter. Little of the calendar is open water, so timing counts for everything. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid May. Break-up sits around mid May on average, with the water closing again about early November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. That is the shape of the year on Lac John.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Lac Peter is 0.4 km distant. What applies at Lac John may have changed since it was mapped.